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A couple in Maidenhead, Berkshire has been handed suspended sentence for illegal possession and supply of £1.6m of unlicensed medicines. Following investigations initiated by the MHRA, Karina Filimonova and Andrejs Stolarovs were caught with the unlicensed medicines which included prescription-only medications. Southwark Crown Court sentenced each "to eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work" for possessing and intending to supply medicinal products contrary to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. "This was a sophisticated operation illegally bringing unlicensed medicines into the UK from Singapore and India, and then distributing them across the country and abroad," said Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement. "Criminals trading in medicines illegally like this are not only breaking the law, but they also have no regard for your safety. These are powerful medicines that can lead to serious adverse health consequences if taken without appropriate medical supervision." In 2020, the Royal Mail Group (RMG) informed the MHRA about parcels containing unlicensed medicines discovered during their investigation into suspicious parcel activity. Following this, the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit, in cooperation with local police, launched an investigation and apprehended the couple at their residence in Kidwells Close, Maidenhead.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has cautioned people to stop using certain eye gels, highlighting a potential risk of microbial contamination that can cause an infection. As a precaution, the agency on Friday announced recall of specific batches of carbomer-containing lubricating eye gels branded Aacarb, Aacomer and Puroptics, which are generally used to relieve the symptoms of dry eye. Burkholderia cenocepacia is suspected to have caused the microbial contamination, and the issue was raised after an ongoing investigation conducted by UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified a small number of cases of infection. Investigations are on to determine if there is a link between these products and the infections which have been identified. Meanwhile, retailers have been told to withdraw the affected products, and users are asked to return their product to the place of purchase immediately.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has asked the pharmacies and wholesalers to stop supplying and quarantine all remaining stock of Dr Reddy's Laboratories (UK)'s Lacidipine 4 mg Film-Coated tablets. The company has recalled two batches of Lacidipine 4 mg Film-Coated tablets as a precautionary measure due to the presence of an unknown solvent-like odour. MHRA said: "The tablets are normally odourless. However, in the affected batches, a solvent-like odour is present when the individual blisters are opened. Additionally, some patient complaints have noted that the tablets have an unusual taste. The investigation to determine the root cause and to identify and quantify the odour is ongoing. "The issue is confined to batches B2202043 and B2202044 only. Other batches of Lacidipine 4 mg Film-Coated tablets marketed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories (UK) are not affected."

Kent Pharma UK has announced a precautionary recall of multiple batches of Itraconazole 10mg/ml oral solution following the identification of out-of-specification appearance in the solution, particularly the presence of suspended particles or clusters of crystals. Itraconazole is an antifungal medication prescribed for treating fungal or yeast infections in different parts of the body. Its oral solution form is specifically intended for treating oropharyngeal or esophageal candidiasis, commonly known as thrush or oral thrush. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has advised the recall following initial investigations, which indicated a solubilisation issue of the active ingredient, itraconazole. This problem may result in some doses containing lower amounts of the active ingredient. The root cause of the issue is currently under investigation. However, due to the potential for underdosage, the affected batches are being recalled as a precautionary measure.

The Manchester Crown Court on Friday (9 December) sentenced three men, Cleave Lewis (35) and brothers, Denis Sutherland (58) and David Sutherland (59), to a total of three years in jail after they pleaded guilty to the illegal sale and supply online of prescription-only medicines and controlled Class B and Class C drugs, worth more than £1.5m. They were found in possession of nearly 1.3m tablets of prescription-only drugs, including powerful sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds, when officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Greater Manchester Police searched their residential homes and business premises in October 2017. Following investigations by the agency, they also pleaded guilty to illegally making these medicines available online on three different websites for the public to purchase without prescriptions. The officials also recovered controlled medicines, over half a million (525,737) erectile dysfunction, slimming and herbal tablets, with an estimated value of approximately £500k, from them.

A man has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for illegally importing and distributing unlicensed medicines from India, the Middle East, and the Far East. Antoine Christopher Kolias, 31, received his sentence at Southwark Crown Court on 28 June after being found guilty of criminal activities in May. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) led the investigation, dubbed Operation Bentley. Kolias was discovered to be acting both as a distributor for an established unlicensed medicines dealer and running his own illicit business. He was involved in the sale of sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, as well as Class C drugs including tramadol, zopiclone, and pregabalin between 2018 and 2019, and again between 2020 and 2021.

Southwark Crown Court on Thursday sentenced two pharmacists to two years of imprisonment each, suspended for 24 months, after they were found guilty of selling 'industrial' quantities of Class C controlled drugs. Mandip Sidhu (47) of Littleover, Derby and Nabeil Nasr (42) of Cheadle, Greater Manchester, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing following an investigation by the Criminal Enforcement Unit of the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Authority (MHRA). Both Sidhu and Nasr were pharmacists registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council at the time of the offenses, which took place between May 2013 and June 2017. Sidhu was the director of Pharmaceutical Health Limited (PHL) in Derby, while Nasr owned several pharmacies across the North West of England. Sidhu was sentenced to two years imprisonment on each of five counts of supplying Class C drugs and four months for forgery, all to run concurrently and suspended for 24 months. Additionally, she must complete 200 hours of community service for her role in the illegal supply of diazepam, zolpidem, and zopiclone.